In accordance with industry accepted best practices we ask that users limit their copy / paste of copyrighted material to the relevant portions of the article you wish to discuss and no more than 50% of the source material, provide a link back to the original article and provide your original comments / criticism in your post with the article.

Original Message

President Obama has compiled a STELLAR record under the circumstances. This list of accomplishments is nothing short of amazing, especially given the complete lack of support from the left side of the aisle-and massive obstruction from the right.

He Returned The Executive Branch To Fiscal Responsibility After the Bush Debacle

1. Within his first week, he signed an Executive Order ordering an audit of government contracts, and combating waste and abuse. [link to 1.usa.gov]

2. Created the post of Chief Performance Officer, whose job it is to make operations more efficient to save the federal government money. [link to n.pr]

4. He appointed the first Federal Chief Information Officer to oversee federal IT spending. [link to www.cio.gov]

5. He committed to phasing out unnecessary and outdated weapons systems. To that end, he also signed the Democratic-sponsored Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act, which attempted to put a stop to waste, fraud and abuse in the defense procurement and contracting system. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS] [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

6. Through an executive order, he created the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

He Improved the Economy, Preventing a Bush Depression

7. Pushed through and signed the Democratic-sponsored American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as “the stimulus package.” The bill passed, even though only three Republicans voted for it. In a major departure from the previous administration, he launched recovery.gov, a website that allows taxpayers to track spending from the Act. [link to 1.usa.gov] [link to 1.usa.gov]

8. The Bush-led Great Recession was costing the economy nearly 800,000 jobs per month by the time President Obama took office. But by the end of his first year, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created and sustained 2.1 million jobs and stimulated the economyby 3.5%. [link to reut.rs]

9. Not only did he completed the massive TARP financial and banking rescue plan, he also leaned on the banks and others, and recovered virtually all of the bail-out money. [link to 1.usa.gov] [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

12. Along with Democrats, and almost no Republicans, implemented an auto industry rescue plan, and saved as many as 1 million jobs. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS] Many are of the opinion that he saved the entire auto industry, and even the economy of the entire Midwest. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS] This resulted in GM returning to its place as the top car company in the world. [link to lat.ms] Willard Romney, on the other hand, advocated for the entire industry to go belly-up. [link to nyti.ms]

13. Doubled funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which is designed to improve manufacturing efficiency. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

14. Signed the Democratic-sponsored Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act giving the federal government more tools to investigate and prosecute fraud in every corner of the financial system, and create a bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the financial fraud that led to the economic meltdown. [link to abcn.ws]

15. Signed the Democratic-sponsored Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which was designed to to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive credit card practices. [link to 1.usa.gov]

17. Signed the Democratic-sponsored and passed Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, expanding on the Making Home Affordable Program to help millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures. The bill also provided $2.2 billion to help combat homelessness, and to stabilize the housing market. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

18. Through the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, he and Congressional Democrats provided tax credits to first-time home buyers, which helped the U.S. housing market recovery. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS] [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

19. Initiated a $15 billion plan designed to encourage increased lending to small businesses. [link to 1.usa.gov]

20. Created business.gov, which allows for online collaboration between small businesses and experts re managing a business. (The program has since merged with SBA.gov.) [link to www.business.gov]

21. Played a lead role in getting the G-20 Summit to commit to a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis. [link to nyti.ms]

23. Signed an Executive Order instructing federal agencies to review all federal regulations and remove any unnecessary and/or burdensome regulations from the books. [link to 1.usa.gov]

24. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, saved at least 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors that would have otherwise been lost. [link to 1.usa.gov]

26. Along with Congressional Democrats, provided funding to states and the Department of Homeland Security to save thousands of police and firefighter jobs from being cut during the recession. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

27. Used recovered TARP money to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. [link to on.msnbc.com]

28. Crafted an Executive order establishing the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability to assist in financial education for all Americans. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

He Fostered Greater Transparency and Better Government, After the Excesses of the Bush Years

34. Provided the first voluntary disclosure of the White House Visitors Log in history. [link to 1.usa.gov]

35. Issued an Executive Order on Presidential Records, which restored the 30-day time frame for former presidents to review records, and eliminated the right for the vice president or family members of former presidents to do the reviews. Provides the public with greater access to historic White House documents, and severely curtails the ability to use executive privilege to shield them. [link to 1.usa.gov]

36. Improved aspects of the Freedom of Information Act, and issued new guidelines to make FOIA more open and transparent when processing FOIA requests. [link to 1.usa.gov]

Wall Street Reforms and Consumer Protection

37. Ordered 65 executives who took bailout money to cut their own pay until they paid back all bailout money. [link to huff.to]

38. Along with Congressional Democrats, pushed through and got passed Dodd-Frank, one of the largest and most comprehensive Wall Street reforms since the Great Depression. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS] [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

39. Through Dodd-Frank legislation, created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [link to 1.usa.gov]

40. Through Dodd-Frank, the Executive Branch fashioned rules that reduce the influence of speculators in the oil market. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

41. Fashioned rules so that banks can no longer use YOUR money to invest in high-risk financial instruments that work against their own customers' interests. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

42. Supported the concept of allowing stockholders to vote on executive compensation. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

44. Negotiated a deal with Swiss banks that now permits the US government to gain access to the records of criminals and tax evaders. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

45. Signed the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act, which closed many of the loopholes that allowed companies to send jobs overseas, and avoid paying US taxes by moving money offshore. [link to 1.usa.gov]

46. Established a Consumer Protection Financial Bureau designed to protect consumers from financial sector excesses. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

47. Oversaw and then signed a Democratic bill constituting the most sweeping food safety legislation since the Great Depression. [link to thedc.com]

48. Through the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act, extended the False Claims Act to combat fraud by companies and individuals usingmoney from the TARP and Stimulus programs. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

He Ushered Through Many Changes That Enhanced Civil Rights and Anti-Discrimination

49. Along with Congressional Democrats, advocated for and signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which made it a federal crime to assault anyone based on his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

50. Pushed through, signed and demanded the Pentagon enact a repeal of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy that forced soldiers to lie in order to be eligible to fight for their country, and put our troops at risk by disqualifying many qualified soldiers from helping. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS] [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

55. Changed his mind and publicly expressed support for the right to enter into a same-sex marriage. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

56. Issued a Presidential Memorandum reaffirming the rights of gay couples to make medical decisions for each other. [link to 1.usa.gov]

57. Wrote and signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies evaluate the effect of their policies and programs on women and families. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS] [link to 1.usa.gov]

58. Signed the Democratic-sponsored Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which restored basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers. This was after the GOP blocked the bill in 2007. Only 5 Republican Senators voted for the bill. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

60. Under his guidance, National Labor Relations Board issued final rules that require all employers to prominently post employees' rights where all employees or prospective employees can see it, including websites and intranets, beginning November 2011. [link to 1.usa.gov]

77. Established new, more reasonable policies in our relations with Cuba, such as allowing Cuban-Americans to visit their families and send money to support them. [link to n.pr] [link to nyti.ms]

78. Ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay. It was Republicans (and, unfortunately, progressive Democrats) who prevented follow through. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

79. Ordered a review of our detention and interrogation policy, and prohibited the use of torture, or what Bush called "enhanced interrogation." He ordered interrogators to limit their actions to the Army Field manual. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

80. Ordered all secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to be closed. [link to bbc.in]

82. On his second day in office, he signed a detailed Executive Order that banned torture, reversed all Bush torture policies, and put the United States in compliance with the Geneva Convention. [link to 1.usa.gov] [link to nyti.ms]

83. In response to the emerging "Arab Spring," he created a Rapid Response fund, to assist emerging democracies with foreign aid, debt relief, technical assistance and investment packages in order to show that the United States stands with them. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

84. Ended the F-22 program, saving $4 billion. Though the single-seat, twin-engine, fighter aircraft cost $358 million each, and the military had 187 built, the F-22 never flew a combat mission. [link to slate.me] (The "fiscally conservative GOP fought to keep it.)

85. Passed the Iran Sanctions Act, to prevent war, and to encourage Iran to give up their nuclear program. [link to 1.usa.gov]

93. Negotiated and signed a new START Treaty that will lst until at least 2021. [link to 1.usa.gov]

94. Through the Defense Authorization Act, reversed the Bush Administration and committed to no permanent military bases in Iraq. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

95. Developed first comprehensive strategy with regard to Afghanistan and Pakistan designed to facilitate the defeat of al Qaeda and the withdrawal of most troops, as well as the rebuilding of Afghanistan. [link to wapo.st]

96. Returned our focus to Afghanistan, stabilized the country, and began the process of withdrawing our troops from the country. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

97. Negotiated a deal with Afghan govenment, to withdraw troops and military support, while assisting in rebuilding and modernizing of the country. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

98. Took steps to severely weaken al Qaeda and limited their ability to terrorize the world. [link to yhoo.it]

99. Negotiated and signed a nuclear nonproliferation treaty with India. [link to 1.usa.gov]

100. Took decisive action to use NATO to limit the slaughter of innocents in Libya, so that the Libyan people could topple the despotic Khadaffy government and determine their own fate. [link to aje.me]

101. Got Egyptian President/dictator Mubarak to leave the Egyptian government to the people, to determine their own fate. [link to f24.my]

102. In 2011, reoriented American focus from the Middle East to the Asian-Pacific region by simultaneouly engaging China and crafting new alliances with Asian countries uncomfortable with Chinese behavior. [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]